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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) runs the ball for a touchdown against the New York Giants in the second quarter during an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Troops getting needed support; district, union must get along

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) runs the ball for a touchdown against the New York Giants in the second quarter during an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Such is the case with Gwynedd-Mercy College and Lower Gwynedd, where personal ties to the Iraq War have been transformed into a community effort to collect items for the troops.

Jennifer Headlee is a second lieutenant in the Army and just happens to be the daughter of township Manager Larry Comunale.

Steve Murphy is an Apache Longbow Helicopter pilot and an Army captain - and just happens to be the nephew of Dennis Murphy, vice president for enrollment management at Gwynedd-Mercy.

Discussions about how to get involved and help our troops resulted in Hugs for Heroes - a collection project in which such items as long underwear, baby wipes, wool socks, batteries, soap and CDs, individual packets of powdered drink mixes, underwear and hand sanitizer are sought.

It is coordinated by the college's student government association, which also named the project.

Comunale's daughter will act as the distributor and came up with suggestions as to what should be collected.

Although the first collection was picked up this weekend, those involved say the effort will continue. If you'd like more information, contact Lower Gwynedd officials at the township building, (215) 646-5302.

Support for this project - and praise for those involved - is well deserved.

IS IT A CASE of keeping school district residents informed, or an attempt to undermine negotiations?

Well, it depends on the person with whom you are speaking.

North Penn School District officials have posted on the district Web site at www.npenn.org the latest terms offered to its support staff.

That's a move that union officials are calling a bad-faith effort.

"We were very surprised to see it there because we thought we were negotiating across the table instead of negotiating out in public," Beverly Stanley, president of the North Penn Educational Support Personnel Association, said this past week.

School board President Vince Sherpinsky denied that was the district's intention, saying the information simply was posted so that the public and other district employees could be kept up to date on the talks.

The association has more than 360 members, including secretaries, special education, ESL and technical assistants, specialists and staff nurses. Members have been working without a contract since July 1. Salaries and benefits have been cited as the two main issues that remain in hammering out a new contract.

But who is correct in their claims?

Naturally we think the public always should have the most information that possibly can be supplied.

The information must be accurate and clearly spelled out, of course. Then neither side should have a problem with the public knowing the details of how their money will be spent.